J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $212.00 to $220.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as high as $211.26 and last traded at $209.25, with a volume of 569613 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $203.50.

JBHT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore ISI set a $222.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.05.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Brian Webb sold 796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.11, for a total value of $150,531.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,968,459.67. This represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Albert Brad Delco sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total value of $179,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,264,500.22. This represents a 12.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,147 shares of company stock worth $3,302,555. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $258,457,000 after buying an additional 1,447,993 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,434,000 after acquiring an additional 635,172 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $91,094,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $358,510,000 after acquiring an additional 416,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Presidio Capital LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 149.5% in the 2nd quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC now owns 670,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,337,000 after acquiring an additional 401,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.68.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.